I noticed something interesting about some Irwin prototypes
Jun 12, 2023 9:21:34 GMT -6
Machine00Mutant and aidenthetoymaniac like this
Post by Branjita on Jun 12, 2023 9:21:34 GMT -6
Maybe I'm just late to the party and other people realized this decades ago, but when I was writing a reply to someone on Facebook last night, I had an epiphany and realized something I had never realized before.
Note, there could be some inaccuracies here, because my memory isn't perfect and I don't know how to fact check some of these claims regarding what episodes were airing on Cartoon Network at the time.
Back when Irwin first started making and releasing their own figures (instead of reissues of Bandai and AB figures) in the summer of 2000/early fall of 2000, there (1) wasn't any overlap from Irwin's different product lines and (2) the assortment of characters was kind of weird. We mostly all commented on how weird the character choices were, but most of us (myself included) liked their odd choices. Despite most people liking the choices, people questioned why Yajirobe was made instead of Tien (since they made Chaozu), and why only Burter and Jeice were made, among other logical questions.
It was incredibly evident that they made some of these choices based on characters that weren't available from the Bandai Super Battle Collection, Bandai Blasting Energy Action, and AB Super Guerriers lines of reissues they had been selling for years. We didn't get a Goku, a Vegeta (or any other character that existed in the SBC, BEA, or AB figure lines) until series 3, when they made Future Trunks. I distinctly remember that series 3 was released around the time period when the Future Trunks saga was on Cartoon Network in the US. And if you didn't/don't know, Future Trunks was/is a major fan favorite back then. They had just finished the Garlic Jr. Saga, and were moving on to Future Trunks Saga. From then on, the releases (which you can continue to see here) followed approximately what sagas were airing on Cartoon Network. The Androids and Cell Saga waves were a bit rushed through, but most important characters did get made. When Buu Saga aired, Irwin was at their peak of making their best figures (Series 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11) and they really made a ton of great Buu Saga characters. When Irwin went bankrupt, Jakks took over, and continued making a lot of great Buu Saga characters. Saiyan Saga and Namek Saga were lightly touched on over the years, but Cell Saga and Buu Saga are what Jakks mostly focused on.
When Irwin went bankrupt, Dragonballtoys.com had an exclusive article with photos of Irwin prototypes that never saw production. (I might have that news post saved on my old computer, but I can't find it via archive.org today, so I don't know what it said or when it was posted). From what I remember about the time period it was posted, I assumed that these characters were planned to be released after/during the Buu Saga releases Irwin had made right before bankruptcy. I believe everybody else thought they were planned for release at that time period too, and it was really odd, considering there weren't any older saga figures being released by Irwin.
But look at series 1-3:
And then let's look at the only other release from the same time period... the deluxe blasting figures that came out in September 2000. When these came out, we wondered if we'd ever see Frieza form 3, Imperfect Cell, or SS Future Trunks in jacket in the fully articulated line. Frankly, I'm especially surprised we never saw SS Future Trunks in this outfit in the fully articulated line, but Irwin was not guilty of head swapping figures and releasing a new figure in the same way that Jakks was.
What if those prototypes were actually a product line of battle damaged figures that were supposed to be released DURING the time period when series 1-2 was being released??
In my opinion... this is likely exactly what was supposed to happen!
Let's focus on these and think about something, okay?
What Saiyan Saga and Namek Saga characters did we already have from the SBC line?
Goku, Vegeta, SS Goku, Piccolo, Frieza 100%, and kid Gohan despite him actually being from Android Saga.
What about the Bandai Blasting Energy Action line that Irwin rereleased?
Goku, SS Goku, early Namek Saga Vegeta, Captain Ginyu, Piccolo, Frieza form 1
What about AB?
None
What main characters from Saiyan Saga and Namek Saga did Irwin end up skipping?
Tien, Yamcha, Saibaman, Kami, Mr. Popo, kid Gohan, Recoome, Guldo, Zarbon, Cui, Dodoria, Frieza form 4.
And what did they have planned in this line of cancelled prototypes (that happen to look like the sculpting work of the person(s) who sculpted series 1-3 and the deluxe blasting figures)?
Half of those characters. It's very likely, in my opinion, that these Irwin prototypes weren't meant to be released after series 11... but during the same time period as series 1-2.
Now... I don't know if that's a big bomb shell to you all, but to me, it kind of is. If Irwin had released these figures during the year 2000, it would have nearly completely filled in what was missing from Series 1, 2, 3, and the deluxe blasting series. Only Yamcha and Dodoria would have been the big oversights missing.
While the sculpts of these prototypes was rough, it's because they looked like hand painted clay, and not like something ready for production. The Zarbon and Frieza were especially unrefined. But man... if Irwin had released these characters back then... it would have been incredible.
Note, there could be some inaccuracies here, because my memory isn't perfect and I don't know how to fact check some of these claims regarding what episodes were airing on Cartoon Network at the time.
Back when Irwin first started making and releasing their own figures (instead of reissues of Bandai and AB figures) in the summer of 2000/early fall of 2000, there (1) wasn't any overlap from Irwin's different product lines and (2) the assortment of characters was kind of weird. We mostly all commented on how weird the character choices were, but most of us (myself included) liked their odd choices. Despite most people liking the choices, people questioned why Yajirobe was made instead of Tien (since they made Chaozu), and why only Burter and Jeice were made, among other logical questions.
It was incredibly evident that they made some of these choices based on characters that weren't available from the Bandai Super Battle Collection, Bandai Blasting Energy Action, and AB Super Guerriers lines of reissues they had been selling for years. We didn't get a Goku, a Vegeta (or any other character that existed in the SBC, BEA, or AB figure lines) until series 3, when they made Future Trunks. I distinctly remember that series 3 was released around the time period when the Future Trunks saga was on Cartoon Network in the US. And if you didn't/don't know, Future Trunks was/is a major fan favorite back then. They had just finished the Garlic Jr. Saga, and were moving on to Future Trunks Saga. From then on, the releases (which you can continue to see here) followed approximately what sagas were airing on Cartoon Network. The Androids and Cell Saga waves were a bit rushed through, but most important characters did get made. When Buu Saga aired, Irwin was at their peak of making their best figures (Series 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11) and they really made a ton of great Buu Saga characters. When Irwin went bankrupt, Jakks took over, and continued making a lot of great Buu Saga characters. Saiyan Saga and Namek Saga were lightly touched on over the years, but Cell Saga and Buu Saga are what Jakks mostly focused on.
When Irwin went bankrupt, Dragonballtoys.com had an exclusive article with photos of Irwin prototypes that never saw production. (I might have that news post saved on my old computer, but I can't find it via archive.org today, so I don't know what it said or when it was posted). From what I remember about the time period it was posted, I assumed that these characters were planned to be released after/during the Buu Saga releases Irwin had made right before bankruptcy. I believe everybody else thought they were planned for release at that time period too, and it was really odd, considering there weren't any older saga figures being released by Irwin.
But look at series 1-3:
And then let's look at the only other release from the same time period... the deluxe blasting figures that came out in September 2000. When these came out, we wondered if we'd ever see Frieza form 3, Imperfect Cell, or SS Future Trunks in jacket in the fully articulated line. Frankly, I'm especially surprised we never saw SS Future Trunks in this outfit in the fully articulated line, but Irwin was not guilty of head swapping figures and releasing a new figure in the same way that Jakks was.
What if those prototypes were actually a product line of battle damaged figures that were supposed to be released DURING the time period when series 1-2 was being released??
In my opinion... this is likely exactly what was supposed to happen!
Let's focus on these and think about something, okay?
What Saiyan Saga and Namek Saga characters did we already have from the SBC line?
Goku, Vegeta, SS Goku, Piccolo, Frieza 100%, and kid Gohan despite him actually being from Android Saga.
What about the Bandai Blasting Energy Action line that Irwin rereleased?
Goku, SS Goku, early Namek Saga Vegeta, Captain Ginyu, Piccolo, Frieza form 1
What about AB?
None
What main characters from Saiyan Saga and Namek Saga did Irwin end up skipping?
Tien, Yamcha, Saibaman, Kami, Mr. Popo, kid Gohan, Recoome, Guldo, Zarbon, Cui, Dodoria, Frieza form 4.
And what did they have planned in this line of cancelled prototypes (that happen to look like the sculpting work of the person(s) who sculpted series 1-3 and the deluxe blasting figures)?
Half of those characters. It's very likely, in my opinion, that these Irwin prototypes weren't meant to be released after series 11... but during the same time period as series 1-2.
Now... I don't know if that's a big bomb shell to you all, but to me, it kind of is. If Irwin had released these figures during the year 2000, it would have nearly completely filled in what was missing from Series 1, 2, 3, and the deluxe blasting series. Only Yamcha and Dodoria would have been the big oversights missing.
While the sculpts of these prototypes was rough, it's because they looked like hand painted clay, and not like something ready for production. The Zarbon and Frieza were especially unrefined. But man... if Irwin had released these characters back then... it would have been incredible.
